CH 3511
Microfabrication Techniques
Lecture 6: Photo-Lithography continue
(L:T:P) (2:0:0)
Dr. Shipra Verma
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology Rourkela
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Types of Diffraction
❑ Fresnel (near-field) diffraction:
▪ Image plane is close to the aperture.
▪ No lens in between.
▪ Relevant for contact and proximity lithography.
❑ Fraunhofer (far-field) diffraction:
▪ Image is far from aperture, and a lens is used to focus.
▪ Applies to projection lithography.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Projection Systems and Parameters:
Projection printer’s performance is described by parameters like:
o Resolution
o Depth of Focus
o Field of View
o Modulation Transfer Function (MTF)
o Alignment Accuracy
o Throughput
Optical resolution depends on the ability to distinguish two closely spaced
points, often described using Rayleigh’s criterion.
“It states that two objects are just resolved when the center of the diffraction
pattern of one source falls on the first minimum of the diffraction pattern of
the other source.”
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Resolution Equation:
1.22𝜆𝑓 1.22𝜆𝑓 0.61𝜆
R= = =
𝑑 𝑛(2𝑓 sin 𝛼) 𝑛 sin 𝛼
Where n = refractive index of the medium/material between object and lens
(for air, n=1)
α = half-angle of the diffracted light that can enter the lens. This property
was named as Numerical Aperture (NA) by Ernst Abbe.
𝑁𝐴 ≡ 𝑛 sin 𝛼
0.61𝜆 𝜆
R= = 𝑘1
𝑁𝐴 𝑁𝐴
The value of k1 also changes from 0.6-0.8
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Depth of Focus (DOF):
o Depth of focus is a lens optics concept that measures the tolerance of
placement of the image-capturing plane.
o High NA lenses give better resolution but smaller DOF, making focusing
more critical. The DOF is given by
𝜆 𝜆
D= 2
= 𝑘2
2(𝑁𝐴) (𝑁𝐴)2
Modulation Transfer Function (MTF):
o It is a key metric for evaluating the performance of an imaging system,
specifically its ability to reproduce contrast at different spatial
frequencies MTF measures contrast in the aerial image:
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑀𝑇𝐹 =
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛
o For good lithographic resolution, MTF should be ≥ 0.5. MTF decreases
as features become smaller or closer together.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Factors Affecting MTF:
o Feature Size: Larger features → high contrast (MTF ≈ 1); smaller
features → diffraction reduces MTF.
o Spatial Coherence: Described by coherence factor S:
𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑁𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟
S= = =
𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑁𝐴𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
o Ideal coherent light (S=0) is not
optimal due to low intensity and
longer exposure times.
o Partially coherent light (S ≈ 0.5–
0.7) is used in practice to balance
resolution and image quality.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Near-field diffraction in contact & proximity exposure systems:
•Operate without a lens between mask and resist; aerial image quality
depends on near-field diffraction pattern.
•Light passing through the mask diffracts, producing an intensity pattern on
resist.
•Diffraction effects cause:
• Gradual rise in intensity near mask edges.
• Light bending outside aperture edges (unwanted exposure).
• “Ringing” inside the aperture due to interference of Huygens wavelets.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
•Techniques to reduce diffraction effects:
•Use of multiple wavelengths and non-perfectly coherent sources to minimize
ringing.
•Effect of gap (g) between mask and resist:
•As the gap increases, image quality degrades due to stronger diffraction
effects.
•Contact printers aim to reduce g to near zero; resolution still limited by
scattering in resist and wafer surface reflections.
•Practical systems have non-zero g due to wafer surface irregularities.
Resolution considerations:
•Fresnel diffraction theory applies for
λ < g < W²/λ (λ = wavelength, W = aperture size)
•Minimum resolvable feature size
𝑊𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≈ 𝜆𝑔
•Proximity printers (e.g., g = 10 µm, λ = 365 nm) resolve features slightly < 2
µm — insufficient for modern VLSI manufacturing but economical for larger
feature sizes.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Photoresists:
o Photoreists are materials that change properties upon light exposure
and are used in lithography for microfabrication.
o They respond to photons by undergoing chemical changes, not just
electronic ones like semiconductors.
o The material must retain a latent image of the exposure until
development.
Types of Photoresists
o Positive Resists: Become more soluble in developer when exposed to
light.
o Negative Resists: Become less soluble where exposed.
Current semiconductor practice favours positive resists due to
their higher resolution.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Key Performance Parameters
[Link]:
1. Measured in mJ/cm².
2. G-line/i-line resists: ~100 mJ/cm².
3. DUV resists: 20–40 mJ/cm² (higher sensitivity).
[Link]:
1. Determined by exposure system and resist contrast.
2. DUV resists provide finer resolution.
[Link] Function:
1. Must withstand etching/ion implantation.
2. Must maintain pattern fidelity under process conditions.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Chemical Components
•G-line/i-line Resists:
• Base resin: Novolac.
• Photoactive Compound (PAC): Diazoquinones.
• Mechanism: Light converts PAC to carboxylic acid, increasing
solubility.
•DUV Resists (Chemically Amplified Resists - CARs):
• Use a Photo-Acid Generator (PAG) instead of PAC.
• Light exposure produces acid → acid catalyses chemical reactions
during Post-Exposure Bake (PEB) → multiple amplification reactions
→ high sensitivity.
Process Sensitivities
•DUV resists are very sensitive to:
• Temperature variations during PEB.
• Airborne contamination (which can neutralize acid).
•Tight temperature control and clean environments are essential.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Characterization Parameters
[Link] (γ):
1. Describes the steepness of the resist’s response curve.
2. Higher γ → sharper feature definition.
3. Typical values:
1. G-line/i-line: γ ≈ 2–3.
2. DUV: γ ≈ 5–10.
[Link] Modulation Transfer Function (CMTF):
1. Measures how well the resist replicates the aerial image contrast.
2. Must be < aerial image MTF to ensure accurate pattern transfer.
3. Typical values:
1. G-line/i-line: ~0.4.
2. DUV: ~0.1–0.2.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India
Non-ideal Factors in Resist Thickness and Exposure
[Link] Thickness Variation:
1. Uneven coating over topography leads to inconsistent exposure and feature
distortion.
[Link] Absorption:
1. Light intensity drops exponentially with resist depth:
𝐼 = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝛼𝑧
1. Can lead to underexposure in deeper layers.
2. Bleaching effect (in DNQ resists) helps deeper exposure by reducing absorption
over time.
3. DUV resists do not bleach, needing better process control.
[Link] Waves & Reflections:
1. Interference effects from reflective layers beneath the resist.
2. Solutions:
1. Anti-Reflective Coatings (ARC).
2. Dyes in resists.
3. Post-Exposure Baking smooths resist profiles.
Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Rourkela, India